7 Bold Pre-Training Camp Predictions for Washington Redskins
Bold predictions for the Washington Redskins ahead of training camp put five players in particular under the spotlight. Three reside on offense and are all set for big and, in some cases, historic years.
One pass-catcher will lead the NFL in a significant statistical category. Another receiver will enter the league record books for production at his position.
Away from the passing game, an unlikely running back will emerge as the Redskins' surprise workhorse of choice. Size won't count against this back, who proved in 2016 he can lug the rock regularly and be productive.
Defensively, a Pro Bowl nod awaits for an unheralded member of the front seven. Meanwhile, a draft pick who struggled in 2016 will statistically outperform some of the bigger, more established names ahead of him in the secondary.
Find out which bold predictions best fit the Burgundy and Gold ahead of training camp.
Jamison Crowder Will Lead the League in Receptions
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All signs point to a career year for Jamison Crowder. Those signs include the eye-catching production that the 2015 fourth-rounder delivered last season, when he put up 67 catches for 847 yards and seven touchdowns.
Those numbers not only indicate a player on the rise. They have also prompted greater faith in Crowder from the coaching staff, specifically, the man who makes the final call on game days, Jay Gruden.
The Washington head coach is already plotting ways to get the ball in Crowder's hand more often in 2017. A key to the plan will be the 5'9", 177-pounder's versatility, according to Gruden, per Mark Bullock of the Washington Post: "I've said all along Jamison can play anywhere. He can play outside, inside. He can play running back probably if he wanted to. So we'll utilize Jamison and try to get him more involved, not just in the passing game and the running game."
Being able to move Crowder all over formations pre-snap is an obvious advantage for No. 80. It will put him in favorable matchups while also forcing defenses to tip their hand by adjusting coverage looks on the fly.
Moving a wideout around also naturally increases the ways an offense can get him the ball. Yet movement isn't the only thing in Crowder's favor as he targets the most receptions in the NFL for 2017.
His flexibility and skill as a route-runner will also prove key, per Gruden, via Bullock: "He's great on option routes, he can run vertical stems. He can run just about anything you ask him to run. ... He gets himself open because he's got a great feel. He's got quickness in and out of his breaks. He plays a lot longer than his size. He has got really long arms. He goes up and gets balls."
Option route-runners routinely hover around or above the triple-digit mark for catches in a season. Consider some of the best option receivers in recent years, mighty mites such as Wes Welker and Julian Edelman.
They set the benchmark of topping the 100-catch mark with regularity Crowder can achieve, starting in 2017. (Larry Fitzgerald led the league last season with 107.)
A new plan from the coaches to better emphasize his core skills will help Crowder. Yet so will being relied on more now DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon are no longer on the team.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins has to find ways to cope with life after two 1,000-yard receivers left. Looking to Crowder more often will be a key for Washington's man under center in the new season.
It's one more reason to believe no wide receiver in the league will catch more passes than Crowder this year.
Kendall Fuller Will Lead the Team in Interceptions
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One of the more under-the-radar Redskins players generating buzz this offseason is Kendall Fuller. Washington's third-round pick a year ago struggled as a rookie, as injuries put the bite on his introduction to life in the pros.
Fast forward 12 months and Fuller is being tipped for bigger and better things. Gruden hasn't been shy about talking up the former Virginia Tech ball hawk, per Ben Standig of NBCWashington.com: "I think his confidence in his body, No. 1. Just talking to him...I think he feels a lot better with where he is physically and that's important obviously for a DB. We probably pushed him a little bit too hard. He felt good, but I don't think he was really quite his 100 percent self."
Standig also cited a previous interview Fuller did with NBCWashington.com earlier this offseason, where the player himself revealed he's feeling stronger.
Fortunately, Fuller hasn't just been talking the talk. He has also walked the walk during offseason workouts, per Nora Princiotti of the Washington Times: "In offseason practices, Fuller showed some stickiness covering Jamison Crowder, a very good sign. He collected a few pass breakups and assisted a few other big plays."
A healthy again Fuller can be highly productive in his second season. The 5'11", 198-pounder has the size needed to play in the slot, and as the episode with Crowder proves, he can handle staying with a slippery, diminutive playmaker in space.
Fuller will need to do the same against Sterling Shepard of the New York Giants and Cole Beasley of the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East. Two games apiece against this tricky duo will give Fuller the opportunities he needs to lead this team in interceptions.
So will games against Tyreek Hill of the Kansas City Chiefs, Tavon Austin of the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks star Tyler Lockett. If Fuller works the slot in 2017, and he should, he'll develop the skills needed to pilfer his share of inside throws.
Of course, Washington's decision to draft Fabian Moreau in the third round this year puts extra pressure on Fuller to deliver. Yet Moreau not being ready until at least September, due to his recovery from a torn pectoral tendon, means Fuller will have a clean run at the slot role this offseason.
Opponents won't want to test Bashaud Breeland and Josh Norman on the outside too often, after the pair snatched three interceptions apiece in 2016. Fuller is more likely to be seen as the easy mark, a sentiment he'll reveal as fool's thinking when he leads the Redskins with six INTs.
Terrell McClain Will Reach His 1st Pro Bowl
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To some, giving Terrell McClain at least $21 million over four years to jump ship from bitter NFC East rivals the Dallas Cowboys in free agency may have seemed like overpaying. But this was a true steal because it landed the Redskins an underrated defensive lineman with Pro Bowl potential for 2017.
McClain has quietly put together a respectable NFL career since leaving the Carolina Panthers in 2012. Since then, McClain has concentrated on playing over the ball more often, where he has established a niche as a force against the run.
It was no coincidence the Cowboys boasted the toughest run defense in football a season ago with McClain at the heart of their D-line. He started 15 games, made 40 combined tackles, logged a career-high 2.5 sacks and forced a pair of fumbles.
More than his numbers, though, McClain was a menace for every center he faced. What makes him tough to deal with are the dimensions of a classic nose tackle combined with nifty move skills.
McClain is far from the biggest presence you will find anchoring a defensive front. Yet what looks like a weakness is actually the key strength of the 28-year-old's game.
McClain's relative shortness at 6'2" allows him to play low, giving him natural leverage, the true key to winning battles along the interior of the trenches. Getting underneath the pads of his blocker means he is also tough to move and knock off the ball, a trait belying his relatively slight frame for his position.
Tipping the scales at 302 pounds may have some concerned McClain can be lost in the wash, particularly against some of the beefy O-lines in the East. However, being lighter means McClain can move and slide across the line of scrimmage with more freedom.
He doesn't need to expend energy dragging 330-plus pounds from point A to point B. Instead, McClain can play in and shoot through gaps with quickness and is flexible enough to vary his stance to create attack lanes pre-snap.
McClain can expect an invitation to the Pro Bowl because he will be surrounded by a stronger supporting cast in Washington. The Redskins have fellow free-agent get Stacy McGee and the 17th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft, Jonathan Allen, to bookend him, while Ziggy Hood will be a fine rotational player.
Combine this group with a contingent of edge-rushers featuring Ryan Kerrigan, Trent Murphy and Junior Galette, and McClain will be free to cause havoc in the middle.
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Washington's Defense Will Be a Top-3 Unit
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The Redskins haven't had a top-three defense in terms of yards allowed since 2004, per Pro Football Reference. Washington hasn't ranked in the same bracket for points allowed since the franchise's last Super Bowl win.
This is the season when at least one of those dismal trends comes to an end. It's a bold statement considering the Burgundy and Gold's recent history of inept defenses.
To put struggles on this side of the ball into context, Jerry Brewer of the Washington Post presented these depressing numbers: "Washington's average ranking in points surrendered the past five years: 23.4. And in yards yielded: 24.4."
When considering what is different this year, the answer is reassuringly simple: The talent is better. In fact, Washington hasn't entered a season with this much talent on D at any other time this decade.
Consider for a moment the blue-chip players set to line up for the Redskins defense in 2017. Outside linebacker Kerrigan is a premier pass-rusher who has logged 34 sacks in the last three seasons.
There is also finally a Pro Bowl player on the inside, where Zach Brown will transform the middle linebacker corps. Brown and Kerrigan are surrounded by solid—and in some cases, more than solid—players at their respective positions.
Murphy is coming off a career-high nine sacks, while Galette registered double-digit quarterback takedowns before injuries delayed his start with the Redskins for two years. Galette is now healthy and looking sharp, according to ESPN.com's John Keim.
Meanwhile, second-round pick Ryan Anderson is a rookie to get excited about.
It's a similar story in the middle, where Will Compton and Mason Foster are both capable, with the latter versatile enough to make plays in every phase.
Things are at least as strong further back, thanks to a loaded cornerback group. Norman still talks too much on Sundays, but there is no denying he is one of the few legitimate shutdown corners. Fortunately, Breeland is no slouch either.
Combine Norman and Breeland with Fuller, set for improvement in year two, as well as Moreau, a rookie deemed a first-round-level talent, and Quinton Dunbar, and the Redskins' cornerback rotation can be one of the NFL's best.
The group will thrive thanks to the impact a finally bolstered D-line will have. In particular, Allen can be the dominant force Washington has lacked up front for too long. Don't forget how special a player the Redskins' top pick could be after he notched 22.5 sacks and 30.5 tackles for loss in his final two seasons at Alabama, per cfbstats.com.
New coordinator Greg Manusky can't miss when having this much talent to work with, even if his own record isn't exactly stellar. Certainly, the Post's Brewer was not impressed with the hire: "It was an underwhelming hire, and Manusky didn't impress me with over-the-top interviews in which he said he wanted his players to 'crack some skulls.' It played to a meathead crowd that thinks defense is only about punishment."
While he has a point about some of the no-frills rhetoric Manusky has employed, the simple fact is talent makes good defenses. Brewer's preferred choice for DC, Gus Bradley, proves as much.
Bradley had good defenses with the Seattle Seahawks when he could lean on the original Legion of Boom secondary, quality linebackers in Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright, and Chris Clemons and Red Bryant up front.
Yet Bradley struggled to build a dominant D as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, only fielding a top-10 unit in yards allowed in 2016 after Jalen Ramsey, Dante Fowler and Malik Jackson had arrived via the draft and free agency in successive years.
Talent makes good defenses, and the Redskins now the have the players to field one of the league's three stingiest units in 2017.
Chris Thompson Becomes the Lead Running Back
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What do Rob Kelley and 2017 fourth-round pick Samaje Perine have in common? There are both tough, inside runners expected to handle the rushing chores for the Redskins in 2017.
So why can little Chris Thompson eventually take the starting role ahead of both bruisers? After all, there is nothing about Thompson's 5'8", 191-pound frame to suggest he can handle a heavy workload, especially for Gruden, a coach who has traditionally favored heavier backs.
Gruden let Cedric Benson and BenJarvus Green-Ellis lug the rock most often when he ran offenses for the Cincinnati Bengals. Since he was hired by the Redskins in 2014, Alfred Morris, Matt Jones and Kelley, all big backs, have led the way.
Kelley and Perine weigh 233 and 236 pounds, respectively, so it's easy to believe Gruden has the type of primary runners he wants ahead of the new season. However, everything isn't necessarily as it appears in Washington's backfield.
For one thing, Thompson is coming off a career year for carries, yards and rushing touchdowns. He gained 356 yards on 68 attempts and scored three times on the ground last season.
The number of carries, as well as his 5.2-yard average, proved Thompson can handle more work as a runner.
There is also Gruden's history of giving carries to smaller, swifter backs. He called then-rookie Giovani Bernard's number a lot for the Bengals in 2013, handing the 5'9", 205-pounder 170 rushing attempts.
Thompson has taken great strides on Gruden's watch. The player revealed the level of faith his coach has in him earlier this offseason, per CSN Mid-Atlantic's Peter Hailey: "He had that talk with me as soon as he got here, and he just told me he was gonna stick with me and I was his guy, and he trusted in me and my ability."
It's worth considering Gruden's trust in Thompson alongside the reasons the coach may not feel the same way about his other running backs. Jones remains in the doghouse, while Perine is a rookie who needs to prove himself. Meanwhile, youngsters Keith Marshall and Mack Brown are untested.
Kelley has the inside track on the starting job after taking it a year ago. However, he's not particularly explosive, nor is he versatile. Thompson has shown both of those traits as a third-down back in recent seasons.
The same qualities he uses on football's money down, specifically the ability to block and catch, should encourage Gruden to put Thompson on the field earlier and more often. It all adds up to the 2013 fifth-round pick eventually becoming Washington's workhorse of choice in the backfield.
Jordan Reed Will Set the Single-Season Yardage Record for a Tight End
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Jordan Reed is in a terrific position to break records in 2017. Specifically, he should have the mark set by Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots in 2011 in his sights.
It was the year the Gronk established a record for most yards in a season by a tight end. The figure of 1,327 is a staggering number to be sure, but one Reed can top in his fifth year.
To begin with, Reed is a phenomenal player at his position. He is the model of a modern "move" tight end in today's NFL, a 6'2", 246-pounder with wide receiver-like speed and route-running chops.
Gruden and his staff never tire of finding ways to move Reed around and isolate mismatches in coverage to get him the ball quickly. No. 86 is also the favorite receiver of Pro Bowl quarterback Cousins, who will look his way even more now Jackson and Garcon are not around.
Even though he is the one player defenses must stop, few can focus in on Reed because of the plethora of talented pass-catchers around him. Crowder, Thompson and fellow tight end Vernon Davis ensure Reed sees plenty of one-on-one coverage, and few players have successfully covered him one-on-one since he entered the league in 2013.
Factor in the arrival of Terrelle Pryor and the return to fitness of 2016 first-round pick Josh Doctson, and Reed will enjoy even more freedom during the new season.
The one thing capable of derailing his attempt to etch his name the record books is a shaky injury record. Fortunately, the player who has missed 18 games in four seasons has looked fresher this offseason.
Reed was explosive once he returned to minicamp, per Jake Kring-Schreifels of the team's official website. Meanwhile, CSN Mid-Atlantic's Peter Hailey declared Reed "the best player on the field in Ashburn," during OTAs.
When the best receiver on the team becomes an even bigger part of the offense, it adds up to a monster season. Reed's year can be a record-breaking one.
Washington Wins a Playoff Game for the 1st Time Since 2005
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The Redskins have won just two playoff games in the last 20 years, following the 1999 and 2005 seasons. Two will become three this season.
In an initial look at the Redskins' upcoming campaign, this writer erred on the side of caution with a 9-7 prediction. But this is a moment for bold thinking, so the prediction is revised to say the Redskins will go 11-5 and win a playoff game for the first time since the '05 season.
Yet rather than mirror the 2005 group, a defense-led and functional team in Joe Gibbs' second tour on the sidelines, this team will be more like the '99 version.
Back then, the Burgundy and Gold boasted their best team since their last Super Bowl triumph in 1991. It was a team defined by offense, with Brad Johnson throwing to 1,000-yard receivers Michael Westbrook and Albert Connell, as well as tight end Stephen Alexander and running back Larry Centers. Meanwhile, Stephen Davis punished defenses on the ground behind a brute-force O-line.
The similarities to this year's team are uncanny, one reason why the Redskins will win the NFC East with their best mark in nearly two decades.
For Westbrook and Connell, substitute Pryor and Crowder, while Reed and Davis are both more dynamic than Alexander ever was. Thompson can do Centers' role even with more rushing responsibilities on his plate.
Whoever the lead back is, the running game in 2017 is likely to evolve into a committee approach. It means Kelley and Perine will get their chances to work over the middle of defenses the way Davis did. All of this year's backs will run behind a tougher, beefier line with Trent Williams, Brandon Scherff and Morgan Moses leading the way.
Where this team will have the edge on 1999's version is on defense. It took the arrival of the late, great Bill Arnsparger as a consultant to revive a capable but underperforming unit 18 years ago.
Manusky shouldn't need similar help considering the talent he has at his disposal.
Overall, the Redskins have rarely been in better shape since 1999. This team is primed to not only return to the postseason, but actually make waves for a rare time.
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